CQC assurance on MDT meetings
Paterson Inquiry · Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · Issued 4 February 2020 · Addressed to: CQC
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
We recommend that CQC, as a matter of urgency, should assure itself that all hospital providers are complying effectively with up-to-date national guidance on MDT meetings, including in breast cancer care, and that patients are not at risk of harm due to non-compliance in this area.
Paterson Inquiry, Report of the Independent Inquiry into the Issues raised by Paterson · 4 Feb 2020 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- NHS England, the Information Commissioner’s Office, and the National Data Guardian developed guidance on information sharing within MDTs (Implementation update to Thirlwall Inquiry, DHSC/NHS England, April 2025).
- The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan includes a focus on optimising multi-disciplinary teams (NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, NHS England, 2023).
- No further published evidence regarding CQC's specific assurance of breast cancer MDTs has been identified since 2021.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government — initial response
Accepted. CQC has updated its inspection methodology to specifically look at MDT functioning and compliance with national guidance. Inspectors examine whether MDT processes are effective and whether all relevant cases are discussed. CQC works with NHS England and Getting It Right First Time to ensure national guidance on MDTs is followed. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)
UK Government · 16 Dec 2021
●CQC — follow-up
Accepted. CQC has updated its inspection methodology to specifically look at MDT functioning and compliance with national guidance. Inspectors examine whether MDT processes are effective and whether all relevant cases are discussed. CQC works with NHS England and Getting It Right First Time to ensure national guidance on MDTs is followed. (Source: Government Response, December 2021)
CQC · 16 Dec 2021
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 1 Apr 2025 DHSC and NHS England implementation update provided to the Thirlwall Inquiry (April 2025). This is the government's own account of progress, submitted to the inquiry. Reviewed extent of implementation: Implemented – Ongoing. The NHS Constitution sets out the six core NHS values. These include commitment to quality of care and working together for patients. These values are set at the highest level by the Department of Health and Social Care through the NHS Constitution and the Government's Mandate to NHS England. Effective communication and team working is a vital component in providing quality care in health. Good communication skills within and between teams benefits patients, but also those working as part of the team, helping reduce risks and providing support for staff. There are several tools which have been developed to assist this: • The NHS Long Term workforce plan, which contains a specific focus on optimising multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). • Guidance on information sharing in MDTs, developed by NHS England, the Information Commissioners Office and the National Data Guardian. • Professional regulators, such as: • GMC guidance on Decision Making and Consent, which provides advice on wider team involvement but also the delegation of decision making. • The GMC provide guidance on working with colleagues, outlining how respect and good communication is essential for good and safe patient care. • Working differently together, a toolkit developed by Health Education England (now part of NHS England), provides a step-by-step guide to help progress a 'one workforce' approach across health and care organisations and ICSs. 'One workforce' is intended to be indicative of a workforce drawn from a range of health and social care disciplines, working seamlessly as a productive, multifunctional team across clinical pathways. • Specific resources for communications in cancer The CQC considers the effectiveness of MDT working when it assesses services. CQC have now implemented and started assessing against the new Single Assessment Framework (SAF), where MDT working is assessed under the Effective Quality Statement for how staff, teams and services work together. CQC has published high-level guidance and will reflect the specifics of the cancer MDT prompts in service specific guidance. In July 2024, CQC appointed Professor Sir Mike Richards to review the Single Assessment Framework. The aim of this short-term review is to support CQC in addressing the concerns relating to the SAF and its implementation identified in the interim report by Penny Dash. In March 2024, NHS England published guidance for local health and social care systems on implementing a timed breast cancer diagnostic pathway. This guidance complements existing resources such as National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines. This pathway was developed by a multidisciplinary consensus group with clinical leaders from local and specialist services across England, expert advice from cancer alliances, and people with lived experience. Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.